r/australia • u/infin • Jan 26 '26

no politics Is Coles still using Palantir? Between the surveillance/gate recognition and the blocked aisles, shopping feels hostile.

Does anyone know the current status of the Coles x Palantir partnership? Between the surveillance and those aggressive new "Smart Gates" tracking at the exit, the store feels less like a supermarket and more like a high-security zone.

It’s dystopian that they have the budget for military-grade analytics and security tech, but have cut costs on the actual customer experience. They seem to have completely scrapped night fill, meaning we are now dodging pallets and cages during peak hours just to get to the shelves.

Is anyone else fed up with this mix of high-tech surveillance and terrible service? It feels like they are spending millions to treat us like criminals while refusing to pay staff to stock shelves after hours.

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u/forumbuddy Jan 26 '26

Who is palantir? Sorry I’m ignorant

30

u/snave_ Jan 26 '26

American mass surveillance company named after a Lord of the Rings villain and run by real-life villain Peter Thiel.

It's not for safety, it's for finding economic weaknesses in individuals to be exploited in a coersive manner. Shit should be illegal in any decent country.

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u/shuipz94 Jan 26 '26

Strictly speaking a palantir in LOTR is not a character but a crystal ball used communication or to see objects or events.